This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
How can you get started as an audiobook narrator? Do you listen to audiobooks? Do you wonder how those narrators get the gigs? How do they find jobs, assignments, if it's not the author at least? For my books, I usually record my own narration, but in the world of fiction in particular, there are a bunch of people who do audiobook narration as a side hustle or sometimes as a full-time profession.
So let's talk about it. Welcome to another episode of Side Hustle School. We are all about exploring creative ways to earn extra income without quitting your day job or as part of a transition from a day job to self-employment. Whatever it is that you're up to, whatever you're interested in, if you're looking to turn a hobby into a revenue stream or simply want to find some new opportunities, that's what we're all about, new opportunities. So let's dive into this world of voice acting and audiobook narration.
We received a great question from a listener who has been inspired by our show to turn his vocal talents into a side hustle. So this episode is for him and also for anybody else out there who might be curious. All right, detailed question coming right up. [Music]
Hi, Chris, this is Jason from Chicago. I've been told I have a great voice and I'm interested in voice acting and audiobook narration.
I've been following your podcast for a while and I've been inspired by the diverse side hustles in future. How can I break into this industry as a side hustle? And what equipment do I need to get started? Any tips on finding my first gigs and building a portfolio would be incredibly helpful. Thanks for all the great advice and motivation you provide.
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Hey, Jason, what's up? Thanks for reaching out. Thanks for your kind words about the show. Glad to know it's been helpful. And let's talk about your idea.
So we've talked about voice acting a few times. We haven't really focused on audiobook narration. It's a very similar field as doing other voice gigs or voice acting gigs on Fiverr, Upwork, other platforms. So let's break down a few quick steps you can take to get started. I'm gonna focus on finding your first gigs.
Jason asked a few different things, but let's focus on that part because step one, setting up your home studio. That's pretty simple. Lots of good articles and resources out there on what you need. We actually did a whole episode on the equipment that might be helpful. For now, I'll just say the Blue Yeti is a great budget friendly microphone.
It might be all you need. I'm using the Shure SM7B that a lot of podcasters use. It's a few hundred dollars. So a little bit more expensive, but still pretty affordable. You wanna build your skills, obviously.
There are voice acting classes. There are online resources. Voices.com has some training modules. You want to create a portfolio, a little demo reel. These could just be samples, commercial narration, character voices.
Keep it under two minutes, highlight your best work. And of course, the biggest part of the work is gonna be finding gigs. So let's spend our time here. Sign up on sites like Fiverr, Upwork, and Voices.com. Create a profile.
Make sure you have a good high quality image. Even though this is audio, people wanna see who you are. Create a detailed profile. Take some time to fill out that profile. Use keywords that potential clients might search for.
Voice actor, narrator, audio book. You can check some casting call websites as well. Voice one, two, three, Backstage, Casting Call Club. Those are just a few options. Those platforms frequently list opportunities for voice actors.
And so for that, there's a whole audition process. It's a little bit different than going through Fiverr and Upwork and such. You kind of want to be doing a couple of these things at once. You wanna set up your profile. You want to check in on these casting calls.
You want to reach out to people. Do some personalized pitches. Just do a little bit here and there, like 10 to 20 minutes a day. If you have a little bit more time, couple days a week, that's good. 30 minutes of outreach.
Try to get experience however you can. Don't worry about making money, at least in the beginning. In the beginning, you want the experience. You want testimonials and reviews. And then you increase your price from there.
That is the typical path to success in this industry. So I hope that works out. Jason, let us know how it goes. We'd love to feature you and your profile for our listeners or for anybody else out there who's exploring this world. Listeners, let me know what you think.
What's on your mind? If we can be helpful, sidehustleschool.com. You know where to go. We'll continue to feature listener questions and updates throughout the year as they launch and grow their projects. So thankful for you.
That's all for today for me. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School. [Music]
From the Onward Project.
